


Kindertale: Monster POV

by cottonmouthcandy



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Kindertale, Undertale AU, cuteness alert, lots of fluff, mostly adorable kids, some sad (?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6079509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottonmouthcandy/pseuds/cottonmouthcandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A companion to the main Kindertale storyline, from the monster kids' point of view. Follow their adventures with Frisk (and see what happens when Frisk isn't looking)!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting a not-so-evil human

Chapter 1- Toriel

This isn’t safe, but you’re out of options. All of you are exhausted, you realize when you look around. You can’t do this much longer. All of you are terrified, cold, and hungry. The yellow flowers that had been set up in flowerpots had brought back bad memories and refreshed everyone’s fears, and the freezing air and forbidding shadows of this unfamiliar world aren’t helping. The rain is like a soft promise of a morbid future, and its cold wet caress is only lowering morale.

Asgore is nursing several cuts acquired from the monster that had cast you all out of the Underground. Undyne is trying to quiet Alphys, who hasn’t stopped sobbing since you’d run into the yellow flowers. Sans is curled around Papyrus, talking quietly to his little brother in an attempt to soothe the baby’s whimpering. You yourself are pressing soaked tatters of your shirt onto your bruised skin to ease its throbbing. It’s bitterly cold up here, but at least your fur is keeping you somewhat warm. It would be much better if you were older and your fur was thicker…but wishing won’t help.

“W-what are w-we gonna d-do n-now?” Alphys’s voice is tiny and weak, utterly lost as she looks to you and Asgore for answers. Asgore startles, and blinks rapidly as he thinks. Sans and Undyne glance up at you both, their eyes expectant. You two are the oldest. You’re supposed to have answers.

But you don’t. You have no idea where you are, or how many humans are around here, or how to avoid them. You don’t think there are a lot of them near here, since you haven’t seen any yet, but it’s nighttime and humans aren’t nocturnal. Daytime, however, is approaching and you know that’s when you’ll all be caught. There will be nowhere to hide. Surely these bushes can’t do but so much to shield six monsters from wrathful human eyes. You don’t know what to do.

Asgore is looking at you too. You glance at him helplessly, unable to find an answer, and he wilts a little. 

“I…I think we should…” His valiant attempt at an answer trails off as he looks around at the dark place around you all. He doesn’t know either. The hope in Alphys’s eyes dies out as neither of you reply, and Undyne starts to look grim. Sans wears the expression of someone who’s known how bad the situation was all along.

You can’t let them all look so despondent. You rack your brain desperately for encouragement.

You’re so busy looking for some kind of response, anything to put hope back into everyone’s eyes, that you don’t notice the shadow looming over you until it’s too late.

Its eyes gleam like dark water in the faint moonlight, and the darkness can’t hide the familiar tall shape of a bipedal creature that you’ve all seen in scary stories. No fur, no scales, nothing remotely monster-like. You’ve never seen one in the flesh before, but you already know what this is. Ice grips your heart and freezes your blood, sending electricity up your spine.

It’s a human.

The others know what this is too, and panic erupts. Undyne shrieks a battle cry as Alphys screams in terror, Asgore snarls with wide fearful eyes, and you can feel Sans getting ready to bolt because he knows he can’t fight with Papyrus here. Fire flares in your numb and freezing paws, and you throw a fireball at the human before you even know what you’re doing. Undyne backs you up with a spear, but the human is faster than any of you bargained for. It leaps away from the fireball, leaping easily over Undyne’s wild swing. Undyne tries again, throwing the spear, but the human bends backward to let the spear fly harmlessly over its head.

Your temporary strength fizzles out at seeing how easily the human dodges all of your attacks, and icy terror takes ahold. You can’t fight this. It hasn’t even attacked once, and your magic reserves are almost drained. You aren’t prepared to fight a full grown human. You’re not even prepared to fight a human child in your current condition. A quick glance at the others confirms this, and with nothing else to do, you leap in front of the others. If you’re all going to die, you’re going to protect the others for as long as you can.

The human looms above you, its shadowy eyes unblinking as it takes in the sight before it. You’re trembling, and so is Asgore, but you can’t think of anything else. If you run, this human can catch you. It’s in good health and it’s much bigger, much faster. It could call other humans and ensure that you all had gruesome deaths like in the stories. Behind you, Undyne is hugging Alphys. Sans clutches tight to Papyrus, who senses the fear hanging heavy in the air. You pray quietly that he’ll hold still and stay quiet, maybe the human won’t notice him and he’ll survive this. Much to your horror, just as you think that, Papyrus begins to wail loudly.

Sans shares your panic and horror. He swiftly tries to soothe Papyrus, but all of his efforts only make the tiny skeleton sob even louder. The human’s gaze snaps to the baby, its eyes widening a little in an emotion you don’t recognize. It leans forward unconsciously, and you bristle up a little as Sans shoots it a wary look. 

Papyrus’s howls reach a new level of earsplitting, and Sans mutters desperately, “C'mon Pap, please,” but the little one won’t stop.

“Pap? Is that his name?” The human’s voice is low and hoarse, and its gaze is filled with some desire you don’t recognize as it leans forward a little more. You’re all surprised; you hadn’t known humans could speak. Sans jumps a little and snaps his sharp eyes to the human, tilting his head up a bit defiantly to show he’s not scared. 

“Papyrus.” He says coldly, daring the human to try and hurt his brother.

The human’s face softens, and it seems to curl back a little, making itself smaller and less threatening. “Papyrus,” it repeats, its voice much more melodious and gentle now, “That’s a good name.”

Sans blinks at it, confused but relaxing a little as he nods curtly, uncertain of its praise. Undyne stares at the human with a clear gaze of suspicion, and your fur is still on end, but at least this human doesn’t seem dangerous. It hasn’t attacked you. It hasn’t hurt you. It’s only tried to talk to you and calm you all down. You don’t trust it, but…maybe it deserves a chance.

“What’s your name?” You ask the human, hoping your gaze looks fierce and intense. Wait. Do humans even have names…? Briefly you panic internally, trying not to hyperventilate. Yet the human seems to be ready for this question. 

It takes a deep breath and meets each of your eyes individually as it responds, “My name is Frisk.”

You’re all silent for a moment, nothing but the rain’s soft drizzle interrupting the utter lack of noise. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, the human lowers itself into a crouch. Now Frisk sits at eye level with you, and moonlight shines through the bushes just enough to illuminate their expression. They hesitantly smile at all of you, keeping their hands in all of your views. You can see that the human is unarmed, and Undyne relaxes a little more than before. 

“What are your names?” Frisk asks in a soft, gentle tone. You offer an uncertain half-smile to the human, because you know no one else is going to speak up first. 

“My name is…Toriel.” 

Their smile widens, and Frisk carefully repeats your name to ascertain that they’ve gotten the pronunciation correct. Sans is the next to offer up his name, simply grunting it to Frisk, whose expression grows a little more encouraging and warm. Undyne, with a small jab on your part, reluctantly mutters her name, and Alphys squeaks out hers next. Finally, Asgore, with no prompting on your part, gives the human his name.

“Thank you,” Frisk says, actually sounding legitimately grateful. They hesitate, glancing back at something behind them that you hadn’t noticed before. It’s a big building, a house, its window lit with welcoming yellow light. Frisk turns their gaze back to all of you, and their face is just as wary as all of yours. An internal debate seems to be happening, and you’re on edge all over again. 

Then Papyrus starts whimpering again, and the human seems to make up their mind. 

“It’s cold out here,” Frisk offers quietly, their eyes searching your tired, battered forms. 

You nod wearily, tired of being afraid. 

“…That’s my house. Do you want to go inside?” Frisk offers slowly, gesturing to the home behind them.

Go inside a human house? You shake your head immediately. You might not think that Frisk is an immediate threat, but you don’t want to be locked inside their house, unable to escape. You want to be able to run. 

“No,” Sans hisses, clearly thinking along the same lines as he clutches Papyrus a little tighter. Frisk seems a bit surprised at how vehemently you all react to the idea.  
“It would be much warmer and drier.” They attempt to persuade, but none of you listen. After several useless minutes, Frisk gives up and sits mutely, their arms wrapped around their knees. They don’t seem to mind the freezing air or the rain, letting it soak through their clothes and hair until they look just as bedraggled as the rest of you. Their gaze settles on the particularly long scrape on Undyne’s arm, the one that won’t stop oozing blood in slow fat drops. Their expression changes to one of worry, and they glance back at the house. “Wait here,” they tell all of you, like there was anywhere else you’d dare to go. 

They stand up, again surprising you with their height, and slip out of the bushes. They cross the yard, passing the yellow flowers that had scared everyone earlier, and enter the house. 

“Where a-are they g-going?” Alphys whispers in a panicked voice. 

“It’ll be okay,” you say reassuringly, although you don’t even know if that’s true.

After only a minute, Frisk’s shadow appears on the other side of the door, and they exit the house. They’re carrying several items in their arms, and when they duck back under the bushes you can see they’ve got a first aid kit, some jackets, and several water bottles. They hold out the jackets, smiling encouragingly. Sans is the first to take one, fumbling a little with the overlarge human jacket as he struggles to pull it over Papyrus. Frisk reaches out to help almost automatically, immediately looking apologetic when Sans flinches away mistrustfully. 

The small skeleton eyes them warily for a long moment. After what feels like an eternity, he slowly steps forward in a silent acceptance of the help. Frisk’s smile returns full force as they carefully arrange the jacket to completely shield Papyrus from the cold, using the rest of the jacket to cover Sans as well. 

Frisk then turns their hopeful dark eyes to the rest of you, two more jackets dangling in their grip. Undyne, after a heartbeat, snatches the second jacket. She puts one arm in one sleeve, and tugs Alphys over to share the jacket. Alphys puts her arm through the other sleeve, and the hood fits comfortably over both of their heads. This leaves the final jacket for you and Asgore. You accept the jacket with a small “Thank you,” as you and Asgore adopt the same method of sharing as Undyne and Alphys had. It’s immediately much warmer and you’re protected from the rain. Frisk beams at your thanks, and then offers water. Undyne is easily the first to accept this token, trying not to look desperate.

After you’ve all gotten water and some shelter from the elements, Frisk is still sitting there looking at you hopefully. They haven’t asked for anyone to go inside again, but they’re fingering the first aid kit. 

“Undyne…” They begin, opening the box carefully, “Could I maybe…?” In their grasp is a bandage, and their eyes are locked on the wounds on the fish girl. Undyne is more than reluctant, but she relents after a moment. 

“Only if you check Alphys first. I’m tough,” she insists as she shuffles over to the human. 

Frisk nods, leaning down to carefully examine the small yellow girl. Once Alphys is all bandaged up, Undyne lets the human near. You’re honestly surprised that Undyne gave in so easily, but then you remember how long tonight has been. Everyone is at the point of being too exhausted to protest genuine help anymore. Sans even steps up to Frisk once Undyne is done. He doesn’t really let Frisk touch him or Papyrus, but he lets them look over the skeleton brothers and he accepts the healing supplies they give him. Then Asgore and you approach Frisk.

This is the closest you’ve been to the human yet. You’re pleasantly surprised by how Frisk’s mouth is not filled with teeth the size of daggers. They have tanned skin and wavy brown hair that goes just past their jaw, and though they smell damp they also smell like fresh coffee. Frisk smiles at you gingerly, obviously making a concerted effort not to frighten anyone, and reaches out to check your injuries. You let them, noticing that you don’t tremble at their presence much anymore. Their hands are light on your fur, almost soothing as they dab on ointment and wrap bandages on, making sure not to pull any bandages too tightly. Once you’re done, Frisk gives you a gentle pat on the head and turns their attention to Asgore. While you’re waiting for him to be done, you watch the human’s face. They have an intense expression as they focus on Asgore, making sure not to miss treating a single scratch on him. Their hands skim over Asgore quickly with care, ascertaining that they haven’t skipped over any wounds and double-checking twice before Frisk finally sits back.

The sky is lightening, you realize when you happen to look up. Frisk apparently registers this fact as well, for their face creases into a small frown. 

“I live alone,” Frisk tells you all, their gaze searching yours. “No one else would see you if you came in- I don’t want you to get caught out here.” They say, and they don’t sound like they’re lying. 

Sans exchanges a look with you, and Undyne shifts on her feet. The earlier ‘fight’ with Frisk had proved just how unprepared you were to deal with humans. Everyone knows that trusting Frisk is the best option at this point. You may not like it a lot, but it’s better than Frisk never having showed up at all. Then all of you were still be sitting out here in the cold alone, thirsty, tired, and freezing. This option is infinitely better.

No one else is going to volunteer first, so you stand up. Asgore follows your action (he has to, you’re still sharing a coat), and you face Frisk. Frisk looks at you, their eyes warm and wanting nothing but to help. 

“Will we be safe?” You ask Frisk. 

Frisk nods. “As safe as I can make it,” they promise, and that’s all you need to hear. You’re dying for a warm quiet place to sleep and to get this mud out of your fur. You glance back at the others. Undyne nods once, stiffly. Alphys shivers a little but looks determined. Sans blinks at you, his face not giving away anything, but when you step forward towards the human house he follows. Frisk leads the way, opening the door to allow you all inside.

You’re greeted by a homely kitchen and the strong scent of coffee brewing. So this is where Frisk got the scent from. The human carefully closes the door behind everyone, and turns to face you. Much to your relief, they don’t start cackling manically about how they’ve captured the little monsters at last, but instead offer to make breakfast and give everyone a bath who wants one. 

“Y-you’re not g-gonna ask a-about the y-yellow flowers…?” Alphys questions in a tiny voice, and Frisk looks somewhat taken aback. 

“Not unless you want to explain,” they answer openly, with a small shrug. Their eyes sparkle with curiosity, but they don’t demand an explanation. You don’t want to explain, not really, but you owe the human something for knocking over their flower garden and hiding out in their backyard. 

You clear your throat, watching Frisk focus their attention on you, and begin the story. As you tell it, the others chip in with their parts, explaining exactly how you’d all gotten thrown out of the Underground by a monster flower and ended up here. Frisk listens attentively and quietly, only occasionally asking questions. It’s almost a relief to reveal all of this to an adult who can handle it, despite the fact that the adult is a human.

Once the story is finished, Frisk sits back and thinks. Everyone waits for their response, looking at them uncertainly. The silence isn’t unbearable, but apprehensive. None of you want to be kicked out- not when you know you can’t make it out there. Finally, Frisk turns their gaze back to you. 

“I’m sorry that that happened to all of you,” they say, “but you can stay here. I’ll do everything I can to help you guys.” They say the last part firmly, and you can see that it’s a promise.

Determination shines in their eyes, and you don’t regret trusting them at all.


	2. Shenanigans occur

Chapter 2- Sans

You don’t know how you feel about the human. Frisk has given everybody breakfast, they’ve brought you all in from the cold outside, they’ve listened patiently to your story…but Frisk is still a human. They can’t be nearly as nice as they seem.

Frisk has been exceptionally patient and kind so far, but you have to wonder when it’ll run out. For Papyrus’s sake, you hope it’s later rather than sooner.

Honestly, you’ve been wary the entire time. Papyrus is too small and too fragile to handle a lot of traveling, and you don’t want him to get caught. If there’s anything that stories have taught you, it’s that humans aren’t very welcoming to your kind, and you can’t stand the idea of anybody hurting your little brother.

Yet the stories sure were lying when they claimed humans were just killers. Frisk hasn’t killed any of you yet, and when Undyne thought to demand their LV and EXP numbers, their stats had been beyond low. Frisk had even been confused as to what LV and EXP were- which meant they hadn’t battled in their whole life. As far as you could tell, Frisk just didn’t fight at all. Though that realization was startling, it wasn’t an unwelcome surprise. You don’t think you could let yourself and your brother sleep in a house with someone who had killed monsters.

Toriel likes the human, and so do the others. Even Undyne trusts them. Undyne, like you, had originally had many doubts, but unlike you, the fish-girl seems to have lost all of them now in the face of Frisk’s unrelenting tranquility and acceptance. You wish you had lost yours as well, but you can’t afford to be blindly trusting with Papyrus’s safety on the line.

Right this moment, Papyrus is happily scribbling away with crayons that Frisk had on hand. The human in question is upstairs giving Toriel and Asgore a bath while Undyne and Alphys watch a cartoon. You observe your baby brother as he coos happily at the blue crayons, making bright haphazard shapes with them. He seems to really like these. Huh. You’ll have to get him some more soon.

You hear Undyne as she starts shouting. “This is boring!” She declares, slamming her fist onto the coffee table. You turn to look curiously as she strains to reach the remote, which is sitting on a corner table at least a foot taller than she is. After several moments, Undyne lets out a loud battle yell and just kicks the table’s legs. The kick doesn’t break the corner table or knock it over, but it does jostle the remote enough to tip it over the edge and into Undyne’s hands. She wastes no time throwing the remote at Alphys, who shrieks and falls off the couch to avoid the projectile.

“Change it to anime!” Undyne demands as she sprints across the room and does a flying leap onto the couch. Alphys scrambles to snatch up the remote, eyes shining and starry as she punches in a channel number. A brightly colored anime immediately pops up, a romantic scene playing. Alphys squeals happily at the television, and Undyne grins proudly. You look on in vague amusement as the love interest and the main character profess ridiculous amounts of love to each other and then proceed to suck face. Undyne does a victory yell, Alphys fangirls intensely, and you scrunch up your face in disgust. Gross.

Suddenly the villain comes crashing in, interrupts the makeout session, and steals the love interest away! Undyne’s yell of triumph turns into rage and before you know it she’s throwing a right little fit. The coffee table gets flipped, the couch cushions are soon located everywhere except the actual couch, and Alphys is on the floor moaning unhappily about how her OTP never gets to be happy long. It doesn’t take long for this to descend into madness, and you decide that you should probably interfere or something. “Hey Undyne!” You call, and she whips around with a crazy smile. Uh oh. “Geez, looks like you really flipped out there, huh?” You try with an easy grin and a pointed glance at the upside-down coffee table, and she lunges off the couch.

Whoops. Maybe you should’ve just kept your mouth shut.

“You’re clearly having a whale of a time, but maybe we should be a bit more koi.” You suggest, and she growls as she advances on you.

“No puns!” She snaps, and you definitely have to tell more puns now that she said not to. “I didn’t do it on porpoise, Undyne!” You protest while trying not to start giggling.

“Saaaaans….” Undyne’s tone is warning, but you’ve never been great at listening when it came to puns. “I’m sorry, I just got hooked. I’ll dolphinately stop now.” You attempt to say with a straight face.

“Sans!” Undyne barks. “I’m hard of herring, Undyne, say it a bit louder.” You respond, and oops she’s right in front of you and looks quite upset. When she picks you up by the scruff of your jacket, you decide that she’s not going to stop no matter what you say, so you may as well throw more kindling on the fire. “Don’t pull a mussel, Undyne, it’s just a joke.”

Her face contorts, and before you know it she’s hung you up by the hood of your jacket onto the coat rack in the corner. Undyne looks over her work, satisfied that you’re stuck, and darts back to the couch just as the anime comes back on.

Alphys perks up as the hero of the anime starts saving the love interest. In no time, she’s back to laughing happily at the show, and Undyne bounces up and down on the cushion-less couch, shouting excitedly. You hang on the coat rack, observing the view with interest. From up here, you can appreciate Frisk’s living room a bit better, but it also means you can see just how much damage has been done.

Feet come pounding down the steps, a few minutes too late. Frisk lands at the bottom of the steps, eyes widening as they take in the scene. Their floored expression is too hilarious not to take advantage of.

“Hey Frisk! How’s it hanging?” You call with a cheeky grin, watching as they turn their incredulous gaze upon you. They gape at you openly, clearly astonished. It occurs to you that maybe Frisk has never had to deal with a child that could flip their furniture over as they move saucer-sized eyes to Papyrus.

Seeing your little brother eating crayons, Frisk seems to jolt into action. They scoop up the tiny skeleton, carefully removing the crayons from his mouth. Next they reach over and unhook you from the coat rack, gingerly setting you on the ground before whirling on Undyne and Alphys.

“What is going on here?” They demand loudly, their voice firmer and angrier than you’d imagined it would be. You freeze at how upset they sound, eying Papyrus. Internally you begin calculating how quickly you can jump up and snatch your brother away from the human should they turn dangerous.

Alphys springs to her paws, petrified, but Undyne clearly hasn’t been hit with how dire the situation is yet. “We’re having fun,” she replies flippantly, “Have you seen this anime?!” She hasn’t lost a lick of her energy yet, but you bet she will once she really looks at Frisk’s face.

Frisk hesitates in the face of Undyne’s exuberance, but then their mouth firms into a line. They take a deep breath and look down at Undyne seriously.

“Undyne,” Frisk begins, their tone edged with a note of panic you hadn’t noticed before, “you guys have destroyed the living room. You’re making so much noise one of the neighbors might hear.” They pause to let this sink in, then glance at all of you. “If anybody heard you, we would all get caught.”

The look on Frisk’s face isn’t angry, you begin to understand. They’re frightened on your behalf. It hasn’t occurred to you before that Frisk would get in trouble too if you were all discovered. Are they supposed to report you? Have they disobeyed human laws to protect a bunch of monster kids?

You have to reevaluate your opinion of Frisk drastically: not only are they willing to take in a bunch of scared lost kids, they’re willing to break the law to help said kids.

Undyne seems to have finally realized what she did wrong. Her face turns pale and she clenches her fists instinctively, biting her lip.

“We-we didn’t mean to!” She yelps pathetically, her bravado falling away in the face of a very real mistake. She jumps off the couch and runs to stand in front of Frisk, tears welling up her eyes as she twists her hands anxiously. The human’s face doesn’t soften, and ice runs up your spine. Is Frisk done trying to deal with this? Are they tiring of everyone already? You hadn’t thought their patience would run out so soon…

“We were just messing around, please don’t be mad! I can’t fight the humans yet, don’t throw us out!” The fish girl begs, visible tremors shaking her body. Her smooth facade is gone, lost to fear as she pleads with Frisk to forgive her. Alphys quivers behind her, her eyes darting fearfully between you and to Frisk.

Frisk doesn’t respond for a long moment, their gaze searching all of you intently. Then they exhale quietly, and turn to you. Gently they pass Papyrus to you, making sure the small skeleton is safely in your grasp before they slowly crouch in front of Undyne.

The human takes a moment to compose themselves, steadying out. You hadn’t even realized that they’d been shaking until now. Frisk’s face slowly softens, and they begin in a very gentle voice.

“I know you didn’t mean to, and I know you’re scared and far from home. It’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have yelled at you, but we need to set some ground rules.” Frisk explains gingerly, their tone gradually lightening up as they offer Undyne a smile. Sensing the change in mood, the fish girl returns the smile hesitantly. Undyne calms down and straightens back up, nodding eagerly at Frisk.

You yourself relax as well, surprised at how tense you had been at the idea of Frisk throwing everyone out. Papyrus, in your arms, lets out a satisfied noise like he knew all along that everything was going to be alright. You smile down at him, rocking him a little.

“How about we have lunch and figure out some house rules?” You hear Frisk say. Alphys and Undyne both immediately perk up, forgetting the tense atmosphere of moments ago, and Frisk glances back at you.

The human still looks shaken, despite having managed to soothe the two monster girls, and you can’t help but offer her a thumbs-up to assure them that they’re doing well. They’re handling this as best as they can, and you’ve gotta respect that.

Frisk leads you all into the kitchen, their confidence returning as they start making spaghetti at your request. Toriel and Asgore slip into the room and join the conversation, blissfully unaware of what just happened.

You trot over to the table and pick a seat that you can climb onto. Once you’re in the seat, you glance around at the kitchen. Undyne has her gusto back full flair and wants to help with the cooking. Alphys is smiling again. Toriel is giggling quietly at something Frisk just said. Asgore is admiring the human’s plants. It’s…comfortable.

You chime in occasionally, content with observing the others and letting Papyrus sit on your lap and drool at the spaghetti. Frisk begins to smile to themselves at the warm chatter filling the kitchen, and you wonder if this is what home feels like.


	3. Spaghetti and early mornings

Chapter 3- Alphys

You wake up to Undyne’s face a few inches from your own. She’s sleeping curled up to you. You wonder briefly why you’re both asleep together…but then you remember with a jolt. You’re on the surface, in a human’s house. You were thrown out of the Underground by a horrible flower monster. Is…is this even safe, where you are right now?

Panic fills you quickly, but something stops you from freaking out. Maybe it’s the comforting rhythm of Undyne’s chest rising and falling. For a moment you consider getting up, but then decide against it. If Undyne is still asleep, and if she’s right here, then you’re safe. You don’t need to get up.

With that thought, you can relax. You’re not sure how long you lay there, just listening to Undyne’s breathing, contemplating how different everything is on the surface.

Frisk isn’t nearly as scary as you’d worried a human would be. They make spaghetti, they keep you and the others safe, they don’t yell or hurt anyone. They’re a lot closer to the cutesy animes you’ve seen than the terrifying bedtime stories of humans eating monster children for fun.

The thought of Frisk makes you wonder if they’re awake yet. Someone pulled the blanket back over you and Undyne while you were asleep, so Frisk must be awake, but you don’t hear them in the kitchen.

Slowly, trying not to wake Undyne, you gingerly sit up. The living room is empty aside from you and Undyne, who shifts a little in her sleep and murmurs something unintelligible. You glance back down at her, assuring yourself that she’s still asleep before you try to roll off the couch.

Your bare claws hit the floor with a soft thud, and it seems to echo in the silence. It’s eerie how quiet the house is without anyone else making noise.

Hopefully Frisk won’t be mad that you left the living room by yourself, you think as you hesitantly slink into the kitchen. You fully expected to find Frisk in there, from the scent of coffee in the air, but instead you’re greeted by an empty room.

Blinking several times, you look again. Frisk has to be in here. Where else would they be?

The human doesn’t suddenly appear from thin air, and abruptly tears are welling up in your eyes and it’s hard to breathe. You bite your lip hard and try not to start sobbing as you whip your head around desperately. Where did Frisk go?!? Did they leave?!

There’s something on top of the table, and that gives you enough focus to stop shaking. A paper, lying up on the tabletop. It wasn’t there earlier, so Frisk must’ve left it.

Crossing the kitchen, you look up at the table. You need to get up there, but it’s a lot taller than you are… Maybe Toriel or Asgore could reach. You don’t want to bother anybody, though. They’re probably sleeping. They’ll probably be upset if you wake them up because you’re too pathetic to figure out a way to get the paper by yourself.

With no other options, you decide to find your own method to get the paper. So you can’t just reach up and grab it. Okay. You need something to make you taller.  
You consider it for a moment, glancing around the kitchen. There aren’t any step stools…but the kitchen chairs should be tall enough if you climb onto them. It’s a better option than trying to claw your way up a table leg.

With that goal in mind, you reach up and grasp the back of the nearest kitchen chair firmly. Using your grip to pull yourself up, you scrabble at the wooden legs with your hind claws. They catch in the wood, gouging in and providing enough support to let you scramble into the seat. Huffing a bit, you look down at the damage done by your claws and wince. It’s only a bunch of tiny puncture marks, but it’s Frisk’s chair and you did that.

If they weren’t gonna be mad before, they’re definitely gonna be mad now. You tremble a little as you look back at the paper on the tabletop. It’s within reach now, and you can see neat handwriting on it. It’s signed Frisk at the bottom. Did they leave a note?

Carefully you stretch your arms out and drag the paper over to you, trying not to scratch the table too.

It’s a note addressed to all of you. It says Toriel’s in charge (what a relief, she always knows what to do), there’s leftover spaghetti in the fridge (for breakfast maybe?) and that Frisk will be back at six-thirty tonight. Their phone number is scribbled at the bottom, along with an invitation to call them if you need them.

You pause, and read the last lines over again. Six-thirty? You…you’ve never been alone that long before… What will you even do? Can you even make it that long…?  
A loud yawn from the living room reminds you that you’re not alone. Undyne stumbles into the kitchen with half-lidded, sleepy eyes.

“I’m hungry,” she complains quietly, rubbing her eye with a fist. You blink down at her, and she seems to register the oddity of the scene before her. “Alphys? Why are you on top of the chair? Where’s Frisk?” She asks.

You hesitate, and look back at the note. “Frisk s-says they have to g-go to w-work until six-thirty,” you admit, twisting your hands together, “so w-we’ll have to h-heat up leftover s-spaghetti.”

“Work?” Undyne says blearily, her mind clearly not working this early in the morning. You nod. “J-just like monsters,” you confirm, “Monsters h-have jobs to p-pay for things, and so do h-humans.”

The fish-girl comprehends this, and nods. “That makes sense, I guess.” She agrees, walking over to you. “How’d you get up there?” She wants to know, looking at you perched on the chair. “I c-climbed,” you reply shyly, hoping she won’t notice the claw marks on the chair legs.

“Good job! Now, to get that spaghetti!” Undyne declares, leaping past you to stand before the refrigerator. Her energy seems to be returning the longer she’s awake, you notice. She pulls open the refrigerator and you both pause. It’s not a very full refrigerator. It has the essentials, certainly: some milk, a couple fruits and vegetables, and a package of meat that you don’t recognize the type of. You think you can see some yogurt cups on the top shelves, but they’re out of reach. Aside from that, it seems kind of bare.

The leftover spaghetti is in a large tupperware bowl sitting beside the milk. Thankfully, it’s on a low enough level of the refrigerator for it to be easily grabbed. Undyne snatches it out and slams the refrigerator door shut with a triumphant cry.

“Perfect! Now, to heat it up-” she freezes mid-sentence, clearly having run into a problem as she looks around the kitchen for a microwave and doesn’t spot one. It only takes a second to realize the issue quickly. “Uh, Undyne, w-we can’t heat it u-up by o-ourselves…” You murmur aloud.

“Of course we can!” She replies indignantly, scrunching her face up. “We’ve just gotta figure out how!”

You both stand silently, thinking hard.

“M-maybe we could g-get Toriel’s f-fire magic…” You suggest after a moment, and Undyne’s face clears up in relief. “Yeah! That’s a great idea, Alphys! Let’s go get Toriel!” She enthuses.

You watch as she starts to walk out of the kitchen, and then halts as she notices you’re not following her. “Alphys? Why are you still on the chair?” Undyne wants to know, cocking her head to one side.

Your face feels very hot. “I, uh…I m-might be s-stuck.” You whisper very quietly. Undyne looks confused. “What did you say? I didn’t hear you.” She says, and you turn redder.  
“I c-can’t get d-down,” you say loudly, and Undyne stares at you. Then she grins. “Of course you can! Just jump down!” She tells you.

You glance down, and imagine falling off the chair and breaking a bone. It sounds highly unpleasant, and for some reason your legs won’t move. It’s only about two feet or so down, but still…

Undyne, watching you, frowns. You sweat a little at that. Of course she’s mad. You’re being stupid. She should just leave you here to your stupidity…

She walks back to you, and holds out her arms to you. “Jump down,” she urges, her voice a lot softer, “I’ll catch you, Alphys. I promise.”

Looking into her eyes, you nod weakly. You believe her. How could you not, when her face is so earnest and kind?

Very gingerly, you lower yourself to the edge of the seat, and push off the end. Strong arms catch you, just like she promised, and you’re very carefully put on the ground.

“See? You did great.” Undyne says warmly, and you smile shyly up at her.

“Now, let’s go get Toriel!” She calls happily, turning around before you can even say thank you. Her hand is wrapped around yours, though, and she pulls you along with her through the living room.

There are several doors in the hallway behind the living room, but only one is open. “I think t-that one’s the g-guest bedroom,” you say to Undyne, pointing with the hand that wasn’t being held by the fish-girl. She nods and starts down the hallway.

When you two peek into the bedroom, you’re greeted by a rather cute sight. Toriel and Asgore are snuggled up back-to-back with each other in a big pile of blankets, both sleeping peacefully. Toriel has a soft smile on her face, and you wonder if she’s having good dreams.

Sans, on first glance, isn’t in the room. Neither is Papyrus. “Where are Sans and Papyrus?” Undyne voices your thoughts in a loud whisper, and you shrug. Sans has a tendency to go missing- but he never goes far.

“Well they couldn’t have just disappeared!” Undyne says in a louder voice than you’d like.

You glance around hurriedly, hissing for Undyne to keep her voice down as you check to see if anyone’s been woken up. At first you think Undyne might not have…  
Then you notice movement from what you’d thought was a pillow a few feet away. Slowly it moves until a skeletal hand wriggles its way out and pulls the blanket back, revealing its owner. A half-awake Sans surveys you with an unimpressed gaze. “…What’s up?” He asks, clearly not amused at being woken up, and you shrug uncertainly.

“We need Toriel to heat up breakfast.” Undyne whispers harshly, and Sans frowns. “Why not ask Frisk?” He inquires. The fish-girl scowls.

“We would if they were here!” She snaps back, and you tug on her arm. You don’t want them to fight. Sans sits up straighter at her response.

“What do you mean, they’re not here?” He demands quietly, the blanket falling back to reveal his little brother’s whereabouts. Papyrus is curled up on the older skeleton’s stomach, wrapped up in Sans’s jacket.

“Apparently humans have jobs too,” Undyne explains, her grip on your hand tightening. Sans hesitates, then nods. “Alright,” he concedes, still a little sore at being woken.

Apparently taking that as permission, Undyne crosses the bedroom, tugging you along with her. She stops beside Toriel’s head, and leans down.  
“Hey Toriel,” she says in her usual loud voice. You poke her in the side, and she softens her tone. “Heeey, Toriellll. Get up. Uh, please.” She adds when you poke her again.

Toriel shifts, one warm scarlet eye sliding open slowly. Both eyes open wide when she finds Undyne an inch away from her face, and Toriel sits up. “What-” she breaks off with a yawn.

You wait patiently until she finishes, blinking at you and Undyne slowly. “What’s wrong?” Toriel inquires as she rubs her ear. “We can’t heat up breakfast by ourselves and we’re hungry.” Undyne tells her.

The goat-girl considers this for a moment, then nods. “Alright. Hold on just a minute and I’ll be down.” She glances at the clock hanging on the wall and blinks. “Oh. It’s already nine.” Toriel says, sounding surprised as she gets to her feet, draping the extra blankets back over Asgore.

“Yeah, which is why I’m hungry.” Undyne reminds her, and you tug at Undyne’s sleeve. “H-hey, c-can we go l-look for m-milk?” You ask quietly, hoping she’ll say yes. You don’t want to wander around alone, and your throat is dry.

“Sure! C'mon, let’s go!” Undyne shouts excitedly, grabbing your hand.

You successfully distract the fish-girl long enough for Toriel to get Asgore up and for both goat monsters to come downstairs. They look mostly awake. After a sleepy moment of blearily taking in the kitchen, Asgore points to the oven. “How about that?” he wonders, tilting his head a little. “Yeah!” Undyne cheers, but Toriel furrows her brow. “How do we start it?” she wants to know, gaze searching over the button-less layout of the old oven.

That stumps you all. Both goat monsters take turns investigating the device, and Undyne helps by banging on it a bit. Once it seems clear that you’re all getting nowhere, you decide that while Toriel and Asgore try one more time to get it to work, you can try to ask Frisk.

Locating a phone is easy…but when you call Frisk, they don’t pick up. You decide to leave a message, but… “H-hi Frisk! Alphys h-here, um, do you-possibly-know how to start the oven?” Wait. No. That sounded like you needed them to come home immediately. You didn’t mean to bother them. “N-not that you should come home and show us how to start the oven,” you say quickly, “-you’re busy at work, I know you are, I’ll just. Um. Bye.” You hang up, feeling like a bigger idiot than usual.

Sheepishly returning to the kitchen, you find that the others have given up on the oven and are now eyeballing the stovetop.

Toriel examines the stovetop and the spaghetti bowl with a doubtful eye, lines creasing her forehead. ”…We can put it in a metal pan and set it on top of the stove.“ She decides after some thought.

"I’ll find a pan,” Asgore volunteers, heading for the cabinets. “S-should we be g-going through the h-human’s stuff…?” You ask quietly, cowering a bit when Toriel glances your direction.

Toriel pauses, then smiles reassuringly at you. “It’s okay. I’m sure Frisk won’t mind. They did leave the note and the spaghetti for us.” She reasons. You consider this, then nod. It does make sense that Frisk would be alright with you warming up food.

Thankfully, the stove top is easy to light with Toriel’s fire magic. Asgore is tall enough to comfortably watch the spaghetti and make sure it doesn’t overheat, and you keep Undyne entertained as the food cooks. With Toriel and Asgore’s help, breakfast goes smoothly. Although spaghetti is, undeniably, a strange breakfast food, it’s good and it’s better than nothing.

Sans comes down once the spaghetti is ready- although he still looks tired, he’s all too willing to fetch Papyrus a good bowl of spaghetti. He doesn’t eat anything, to your slight concern, but he does make sure that Papyrus finishes at least half a bowl before the small skeleton starts smearing it on his face. At that point, Sans wisely takes away the pasta and goes to find a cloth.

You yourself finish a bowl of spaghetti and still feel a bit hungry. “Hey, I could go for some more. Is that all we’ve got?” Undyne voices your train of thought loud, and Toriel nods. “This is all the spaghetti, but that should be alright for now. We had dinner last night.” the goat monster reminded her gently, adding, “We’ll find something else for lunch.”

Undyne’s lip curls, but she nods. After a bit, Toriel decides that everyone ought to wash up. Frisk has a small bathroom with a low shower-knob, so that’s the one you all opt to use. Sans handles Papyrus by himself, thoroughly scrubbing and drying his younger brother with careful hands. Once Papyrus is wrapped up in a blanket, Sans sits on the couch with the smaller skeleton and insists that he’ll shower last.

Undyne leaps into the shower next, and takes nearly an hour in there. By the time you get in, the entire bathroom is steamed up from all the hot water she used. It’s still warm when you hop in, though.

At first you’re content to just stand in the warm spray. Soap, however, beckons to you, and although it gets underneath your scales and is rather hard to get back out, you enjoy the feeling. Once you feel totally clean, you decide to indulge yourself a little. Just a bit more shower can’t hurt, right? After all, Undyne took a really long one, and you’re pretty sure you’ve only been in here for maybe twenty minutes.

You tilt your head back to the water and enjoy the sensation of it running down your snout. It’s relaxing, and you start to think that maybe it was okay to be a little bit selfish.

Until the water abruptly turns cold. Freezing water hits your face like a blast of cold wind, and you yelp, tumbling backwards into the shower door. It gives way to your weight and sends you sprawling onto the floor with a bang. You scramble to grab a towel and shut the icy water off, calling “I’m fine!” as footsteps thud down the hallway.

When you wrap a towel around yourself and hesitantly peek out the door, Toriel, Undyne, and Sans are all staring at you worriedly. “What happened?” Toriel asks anxiously, looking you up and down. Your cheeks feel very warm. “I-uh…the h-hot w-water’s gone. I’m s-sorry…” you whimper, feeling your eyes tear up.

“It’s alright, Alphys, don’t cry,” Toriel consoles you, “I can heat up a bath for the rest of us.” She holds out a paw and lights a little flame in the center of it, just to prove it to you. This calms you down enough to halt your tears, but you still feel bad that Toriel, Asgore, and Sans are all going to have to heat their own water to take a bath.

They proceed to do just that, as you unhappily sit on the couch and mope about your own awfulness. Papyrus is swaddled in a blanket beside you, making incoherent happy noises as the TV plays a rerun of an anime you’ve seen several times. For once, anime isn’t really helping your mood.

Undyne is sitting on the other side of Papyrus. After the rerun goes onto a commercial, she glances at you. Sans and the others are upstairs, taking turns in the bath, and there’s no one else downstairs. “I’m still hungry,” Undyne declares after a moment, “I’m gonna make spaghetti.”

“…B-but Toriel and A-Asgore are u-upstairs.” You say uncertainly. The fish girl grins. “So? I can handle it!” she declares, leaping off the couch. Papyrus makes a cooing noise, and Undyne sweep up the little skeleton. “See? Papyrus wants spaghetti, don’t you Papyrus?” she asks him loudly, and he giggles at her. Her eyes light up, and she shoots you a toothy smile. “See? Papyrus wants spaghetti too! LET’S GO!”

Before you know it, Undyne’s in the kitchen, putting Papyrus up on the countertop beside the stove. You trail in after her, too nervous to say anything but too frightened to leave her alone in there.

“Alright, Papyrus! LET’S MAKE SOME SPAGHETTI!” she yells excitedly, banging her fist on the counter. Papyrus giggles again, and Undyne’s smile grows wider. Turning on her heel, she tears across the kitchen to the pantry that Asgore had discovered earlier. Throwing its door wide open, she quickly locates the noodles and some tomato sauce.

Crossing back to the stove, Undyne stares hard at the unlit stove, then suddenly grins, remembering something. “U-um, Undyne….? W-we don’t h-have f-fire magic…” You remind her, and she throws you a confident grin. “Yeah, but I found a LIGHTER earlier! See?!” Seemingly out of nowhere, Undyne whips out a lighter.

With a couple clicks, it produces a bright orange flame that she promptly sticks into the stove., turning up all the gas dials as she does so. Something about that doesn’t seem right to you- this was one of those stoves that released the gas as you turned up the dial, right? It needed to be done gradually, or the flames would be too big and dangerous.

So if you put a flame onto all of it at once….!

“Um, U-Undyne…don’t p-put it d-directly into t-the g-gas…!” you try to warn her, but it’s already too late. The stove erupts into blue flames, and Undyne leaps back with a loud shout. “WOAH!” she yells. “IT’S ON FIRE!” She drops the noodles and the can of tomato sauce with a loud clang and thump, a noise you’re sure the others can’t miss.

Papyrus, on the countertop, lets out a cry of surprise. The flames are only inches away from him, and he doesn’t seem to like them at all. Tears well up in his sockets, and his next sound is a loud unhappy wail. He doesn’t stop, either, as Undyne searches for something to put the fire out. You wring your paws anxiously, then force yourself to jump forward and help.

You start to try to leap for the sink, to get water, but soon realize that’s not going to happen. Undyne, meanwhile, is about to throw milk from the fridge on the fire.  
That’s the scene that Sans come crashing into: you, hopping up and down reaching for the sink, Undyne, about to throw milk all over the stove, and Papyrus, sobbing loudly beside the stove on fire.

To his credit, he doesn’t panic quite like you and Undyne. Instead, he crosses the kitchen so fast you could’ve sworn he barely moved. Snatching his baby brother off the stovetop, he takes a couple steps back to examine the situation.

Toriel is the next monster to discover the chaos- only a few heartbeats behind Sans, she appears at the doorway with wide eyes. “Gas fire…Sans! Smother it! Do NOT throw milk on it, Undyne!” she orders quickly, and Sans obliges instantly by grabbing an empty pot and slamming it over the burner. Undyne sheepishly lowers the jug of milk, and you stand awkwardly.

After a moment of almost-silence (the only noise being Sans shushing Papyrus gently), Toriel walks across the kitchen and hesitantly lifts the pot. The fire doesn’t spring back up, but now you have a clear view of the damage done.

The metal looks suspiciously melt-y, and the gas reserves of the burner are nearly empty. Ash and soot surround the burner, and it looks like the stove was hit by an angry dragon hatchling.

Frisk’s gonna be so mad, you think in horror.

You run out of the kitchen as Toriel starts to clean up, darting all the way down the hallway to the phone. Frisk’s gonna be so mad Frisk’s gonna be so mad oh no oh no oh no , your mind screams at you as you pick up the phone and shakily dial Frisk’s number.

When you don’t get anything but the answering machine, your anxiety bursts. “Friskwe’resorrywedidn’tmeantoitwasanaccident-” you start, but Undyne followed you down the hallway and she tackles you the moment she sees the phone. “No! Let me tell them!” she wrestles the phone from your claws and calls them again.

“HEY FRISK!!!WHAT’S UP?!!” she yells instantly into the phone. “We were hungry and out of food, so we tried to make spaghetti ourselves and the stove caught FIRE!!!” she doesn’t sound upset or worried about this at all.

Her shouting has attracted Toriel’s attention. The goat monster appears behind you and Undyne, her face a tad stern.

“Undyne, may I have the phone, please?” Toriel asks. It’s not really a question, but Undyne grins and nods brightly.

“Hmm? Oh!! Sure thing, Toriel!!” she hands Toriel the phone.

“Hello, Frisk! You haven’t been answering your phone, so I assume you’re occupied with work.” She says calmly, apparently realizing how bad this sounded already. “The stovetop caught fire when Undyne was trying to teach Papyrus how to cook spaghetti. It’s alright now, Sans helped me douse the flame and now we’re cleaning up. We’re all safe, and the incident doesn’t seem to have alerted the neighbors. Hope you’re alright. Goodbye.”

She hangs up and turns to look at you and Undyne. Sans appears in the kitchen doorway behind her, holding an appeased Papyrus in his arms. You start quivering. “Please, Undyne, wait for me or Asgore next time,” Toriel says after a moment, apparently deciding that there wasn’t much else to say.

Undyne grins faintly, looking only a little repentant. Toriel sighs, then smiles. “Let’s find something else to do, yes?” she suggests. Asgore rounds the corner of the hallway just then, his fur still damp. He blinks at the odd scene before him. “Golly…is everyone alright?” he asks, apparently understanding that something went down a moment ago. Toriel nods. “Everyone’s fine. I was wondering if you and Undyne could perhaps find something to do outside of the kitchen…?” she inquires politely, and he nods immediately.

Toriel glances at you, and you immediately cower. You’re still on the ground, but you press yourself close to the floor and start chanting apologies. You should’ve stopped Undyne, should’ve grabbed Papyrus off the counter, should’ve done anything but what you did. How could-

The goat monster crouches in front of you, carefully laying a paw on your shaking body. “Alphys. Alphys, it’s alright.” she murmurs to you softly over and over again. Using a claw to brush away tears that you hadn’t realized you’d been crying, she tilts your head up to look at her. “Alphys, it’s okay. No one’s hurt. We’re all fine.” she reassures you.

Your sobs stop slowly, and Toriel smiles encouragingly. “Come on, let’s go read a book.” she cajoles sweetly, helping you ton your feet. You sniffle and nod in acceptance, following her to the living room.

Toriel is a good reader, you soon find out. While Asgore and Undyne are ‘training’ outside (out of sight, of course), Toriel manages to actually get you to stop shaking like a leaf within an hour. Sans, after cleaning up the stovetop, curls up with Papyrus on the couch. The smaller skeleton brother, apparently recovered from his trauma, is now fast asleep.

As Toriel continues to read to you, the soothing of her voice calming your ruffled feathers, you vaguely register Sans on the phone. He’s updating Frisk, you think. 

“Heya Frisk.” Somehow he sounds entirely nonchalant. “Just figured we’d give you an update. Asgore is distracting Undyne with “warrior training” out back -” you hope he’ll explain that they’re not anywhere in the sight of humans “- but Toriel made them promise to stay out of sight.” Good, he did. “Toriel herself is reading to Alphys to calm her down, and Paps finally fell asleep.” Sans continues. “Hope your day is sans-tastic. See you later.”

He clicks the phone off, sending you a small wink as he settles into the couch, cuddling Papyrus a little closer. Toriel smiles at you when you look back at her again, and resumes reading.

This is…comfortable, you have to admit. It’s not ideal, and you’re still scared, but things seem to be figuring themselves out, piece by piece.


	4. Mock fights and ghosts

Chapter 4- Undyne

You stare fiercely into the pitch black eyes of your opponent, baring your teeth at them. Slowly you hold your spear aloft, pointing directly at your enemy. Your breathing is steady. You are unfaltering, undefeatable, and your voice is firm as you confront your foe.

“Are you ready,” you begin, a snarling grin crossing your lips, “to face…UNDYNE THE UNDYING?!” you whirl, stabbing your spear into the ground right in front of your enemy with a loud yell. The spear goes straight through the carpet and into the wood of the floor, sinking in a good few inches. 

Your rival stares back with unblinking eyes, facing down your spear without a drop of fear. Unaffected by your intense ferocity, the foe lets out a small growl, and you snap your teeth. “No one can beat me! I’m Captain of the Royal Guard!” You shout, yanking your spear back up, “Fight, coward!”

Lunging at your enemy, you’re about to plunge your spear into the ground beside them, to inspire some fear. Instead, as you’re leaping at the enemy, your foot catches on something, and you go sprawling to the floor with a shriek. Tumbling head over heels, you flop to the ground ungracefully right in front of your foe. 

You open your eyes and look up at your enemy, who is staring down at you solemnly. 

Inch by inch, your rival’s hand raises, and approaches your face.

You stare down certain defeat unfalteringly, tensing up as…..

…..Papyrus pokes your nose with a curious finger, proceeding to slap his hand to the rest of your face with a burbling giggle. Your scowl only makes him coo at you, and you groan quietly. “No, we’re fighting! You’re supposed to fight back!” you scold as you sit up, although it’s halfhearted. Papyrus whines back at you, reaching for your face. You hesitate, then settle back on the ground, pulling the tiny skeleton a little closer. 

“You should be taking advantage of this opportunity,” you tell him seriously as he swipes his tiny hands in your hair. He tugs gently at the strands of hair caught in his grasp, fascinated. You blink up at him, not quite out of your fighting mood. 

“You’re too tiny to beat me. You should’ve attacked when you had the chance!” He looks up at you cluelessly with a bright little grin, and you silently concede that this fight will have to wait for another day. 

With your enemy unwilling to battle, you decide to look for another opponent. Alphys is reading a book on the couch, but she doesn’t like to battle. Toriel is in the kitchen with Asgore, busy making sandwiches for lunch. Asgore is a good opponent, but he doesn’t like being interrupted when he’s with Toriel. Toriel won’t battle you at all. Which leaves…

Sans. Sans is asleep on the floor a few feet away from you, nestled into his jacket. You’ve never fought Sans before- you think he can fight but won’t. Which isn’t a very healthy warrior mentality! Every monster should be prepared to defend themselves! Especially considering that you’re all stuck in the human world. Sans can’t afford to be a lazybones. 

With that thought in mind, you sit back up. Papyrus lets out a small whimper of protest, but you grab a nearby ball and roll it over to him. He seems satisfied with the toy, so you feel okay with getting up. Stalking over to Sans on nearly-silent feet, you grin as you loom over him imposingly. Preparing to jump on him, you tense up your body like a true predator. You’ll teach him for letting his guard down-!

Pouncing on Sans isn’t a good idea, you quickly find out. His eyes flash open before you even crash into him, and he rolls out of the way with all the speed of a trained fighter. You hit the ground and scrabble to lunge after him, but Sans is already on his feet. 

“You cod do better than that, Undyne,” he says, his voice not at all sleepy like you’d expected. “Sans!” You snap back, “Fight me!” you don’t want a pun war, you want an actual battle. And if you keep lunging at him, he just might decide to do something other than dodge. 

“Undyne, that would be orca-ward. You know I’m o-fish-ally not much of a fighter.” he snarks back, dodging your stab. You growl, “Fight!” and Alphys looks up from her book. “G-guys…” she says hesitantly, a little warningly, “let’s be careful…" 

"I AM being careful!” you yell back as you summon up a spear and jab it at Sans. He steps aside again, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Geez Undyne, you’re already flounder-ing,” Sans says with a wink, “Maybe you should come at this from a different angler." 

You howl at him, practically seeing red, and he snickers. "Kinda shellfish of me to keep telling puns, but I always take a good oppor-tuna-ty.” Sans barely manages to avoid your next barrage of attacks, but he doesn’t loose his wide grin. 

“NNNNGAAAHHH!” You scream, and throw yourself at the skeleton.

Of course, he moves out of the way again, and you hit the floor. 

You lie there a moment, seething silently. Maybe trying to fight Sans wasn’t a good idea. He hasn’t even attacked once. How are you supposed to fight when all he does is dodge?

“Y'know, I can sardine-ly stop, if you’re done.” Sans tells you casually, and you let out a muffled angry noise into the carpet. “I don’t make a good anemone in battle anyway,” he adds thoughtfully, and you yank your head up to glare at him. “You sure don’t.” you agree darkly. 

Rolling to your feet, you don’t resume an attack stance. It’s not worth it. Sans, seeing your posture, relaxes. He plops himself right back on the ground like nothing happened, eyes already half-lidded. You snort a little at him and his laziness, and he shrugs in response. 

You glance up at the couch to see what Alphys thought of the mock battle, only to find that she’s not there. “Alphys?” you call, looking around suddenly. The small lizard isn’t anywhere in sight, and Sans pops one eye open curiously. “Alphys, where’d you go?” You repeat, more loudly this time. 

No response. 

You start to pace around the room, looking for Alphys. “Hey, Toriel! Is Alphys in there?” You ask as you poke your head into the kitchen. Both goat monsters turn curious eyes to you, and Toriel shakes her head. “I’m afraid not. Did she go to the bedrooms?” she inquires, and you pause. Frisk did keep a lot of books back there- maybe Alphys had finished her book and was just getting another one. 

Well, didn’t hurt to check. You grin, barely remembering to yell “Thanks Toriel!” as you go running down the hallway. You run in and out of each bedroom, using your kick-and-search method. It works like this: you kick open the door, bolt inside, look for Alphys, and keep going. 

Human doors aren’t very tough, though. The first door you kick doesn’t open- no, your foot just goes straight through it. The old wood gives way like paper before your powerful kick. You stare at your foot, stuck through the door. It takes a moment to register that you literally just kicked your foot through a door. 

“WOAH!” you yell, impressed with yourself. You must be really tough to have managed that! You were totally going to be the strongest monster ever when you grew up! 

However, Alphys was not inside the bedroom. Or the next one, or the next one. Alphys wasn’t in any of the rooms that you checked, and it was very…well, worrying was for babies, but you didn’t like how it made you feel! Had Alphys gone outside? Had a human captured her or stolen her away from the house? 

You quickly began imagining it: the small yellow girl trapped by a huge nasty human, calling for your help. You would come charging to the rescue, in full armor and with enormous spears! The human would laugh evilly, and you’d lunge at him! He’d stop laughing real fast in the face of your terrifying spears, and beg for mercy. You’d defeat the human, take his weapons, and free Alphys. She’d call you a hero, and you might even get a little kiss or a token of some sort, just like knights in all the stories! 

Unfortunately, you’re so caught up in imagining things that you don’t hear Sans calling you until the short skeleton is standing right in front of you. “-hey! Undyne!” he says, and you shake yourself out of it. “Yeah? What is it, punk?” you ask, a little sore at him still. He blinks at you. “Alphys is in the backyard. She says Napstablook and Mettaton are here." 

The two ghosts? How had they ended up here? You process this, shrug, and decide it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they’re here! You immediately bolt down the hallway, leaving Sans behind. 

The backyard looks very pretty in full sunlight, even with the nasty yellow sunflowers in it. Alphys is sitting in the cover of a bush nearby, her back to you as she talks to someone. You approach, spotting Mettaton hovering in plain view. Napstablook is behind Mettaton, barely visible in the daylight. 

"Hey guys! What’s up?!” you call, and Napstablook startles. Alphys turns to smile at you. “O-oh! Undyne! They j-just arrived, t-they h-had-" 

"You guys totally need to see Frisk’s house! It’s filled with human stuff!” you tell the two ghosts enthusiastically. Mettaton’s eyes light up, and Nasptablook slowly becomes more visible. “Human things? Like what?” the pink ghost wonders aloud, and you grin widely. “C'mon! We’ll show ya!” you grab Alphys’s hand and pull her to her feet, leading the way into Frisk’s house. 

Sans, on the couch, waves when the two ghosts enter, and Papyrus lets out a happy little squeal at the sight of Mettaton. The pink ghost immediately darts over to coo over the tiny skeleton, who seems fascinated by the ghost’s bright colors and non-corporeal-ness. You resist the urge to roll your eyes and instead tug Alphys and Napstablook along. 

The house isn’t huge, but it’s got enough weird human-only things that you can give an amazing tour. Napstablook seems suitably impressed with your orating skills, even if Mettaton does look more interested in a jewelry box than in your grandiose speech about Frisk’s kitchen knife. Which is a little insulting, in your opinion. Who would want a shiny box for jewelry when they could have a huge KNIFE that looked like it could cut through almost anything?! You refrained from telling Mettaton, but privately thought so. 

“Can I have this?” Mettaton asks you when you’re all standing in Frisk’s bedroom. You pause in your tour and look at the ghost. The pink ghost is hovering above Frisk’s dresser, pointing at something shiny sitting on top of it. You furrow your brow, and scramble up onto Frisk’s bed in order to get a good look at the thing. 

It’s a locket, shaped like a heart. Something about it seems familiar, but you don’t know what. You shrug, glancing at Mettaton. “I don’t think you could wear it anyways.” you say bluntly, and he frowns but hovers back down to the ground. You hop off the bed and continue the tour. 

Once you finish showing the ghosts the house, they wander off to go talk to Asgore. Toriel calls you and Alphys in the kitchen for sandwiches, and Sans and Papyrus stay on the couch. 

Frisk gets home a bit later than expected. You hear the door open, and immediately shove the rest of your sandwich down your throat. Alphys, who isn’t quite done yet, simply drops the half-eaten sandwich and slides off her chair. 

You hit the ground running, flying into the living room. Frisk is already holding Papyrus and Sans, but that doesn’t prevent you from slamming into their legs happily. Alphys is a step behind you, and is much gentler with her hugging of Frisk. 

Frisk seems just as happy to see all of you as you are to see them. They laugh at something Sans said, and go to pat Napstablook on the head. Their hand goes right through the tiny ghost, and they freeze. (You could sympathize. The ghosts were pretty cold if you ‘touched’ them without expecting it.)

Frisk looks down, and their face changes. You pause in confusion, not understanding the expression on their face. Sans looks concerned, and Toriel looks just as questioning as you do. 

“Hey guys?” Frisk begins, their voice seeming a little shaky, “I think you forgot to introduce me to some people.”


	5. An abrupt introduction

Chapter 5- Napstablook

You have to admit that the surface is a lot bigger than you'd originally thought. It had been hard in the Underground to imagine a world that just went on and on and on...yet here it is. The sky stretches across infinity, the ground never comes to an abrupt dead end or a wall. There is...nothing. No end to the immense expanse that is the surface.

When you'd first emerged from the Underground, you were overwhelmed by everything. It had been nighttime, the world covered in shadows and grey as icy water poured from above. Mettaton had tried his hardest to calm you down, bless him, but you hadn't been able to move out of sheer terror. Everything was big, and scary, and somehow you and Metta had lost track of the other monsters when you'd tried to follow them. 

Mettaton had waited patiently by your side, talking about everything and anything to get you to focus on something other than your fear. For the most part, he'd succeeded, and by the time the daylight had started to warm the earth you were alright to keep going. Unfortunately, at that point neither you nor Mettaton had had any clue of where the other monsters had gone. The rain had washed away their footprints and there was no trail to follow. 

With little other choice, you and Mettaton had ended up meandering around the surface, searching for your friends. You'd figured that they couldn't have gotten very far, but the fact that you couldn't find them spoke to the contrary. 

You'd just started to feel the despair that you'd never see your friends again when Alphys found you and Metta.

And now here you are, in a human's house, staring at a live human.

At least the human looks just as floored as you are. Sans is cradled in one of the human's arms, Papyrus in the other, and the other monsters are all gathered around the tall figure like it's just another monster. The human's face is painted with shock as it stares at you and Mettaton, eyes wide and mouth parted slightly in surprise. 

Oh no, oh no, oh no. You haven't considered that maybe the other monsters had found a place without you and didn't want intruders. You haven't considered that the human might not want ghosts in its house. You didn't mean to intrude, you just thought that it might be all right if you came in, why would you ever assume that, you're such a terrible person, what if you upset the human or ghosts frightened them or-?!

Your tears come without any warning. At first they're silent, just quietly trailing down your translucent face like tiny rivers. You fade almost out of sight in embarrassment, ready to flee as soon as possible. Silently you hope Mettaton notices, so you can get out before you make a scene and mess up all over again.

"Oh! F-Frisk, this is M-Mettaton and N-Napstablook! They're our friends..." Alphys hurries to explain, twisting her claws anxiously. Mettaton sweeps up immediately, pink glow brightening into near-solidity as he grins up at the human. "Hello! I'm Mettaton!" He chimes happily, and the human -no, Frisk- hesitantly smiles at him. 

"Um, hi Mettaton. I'm Frisk." They reply, gaze trailing over your cousin with no small fascination. You hang back a little, trying to stop your waterworks and only making yourself cry a little harder. God, you're trash. 

Sans taps the human's shoulder, and once they look over he glances down pointedly at the ground. Frisk nods, then crouches accommodatingly to set Sans on the ground gently. The small skeleton, once his feet are firmly on the floor, holds out his hands. Frisk passes him Papyrus, and he grins briefly at them before trotting towards the kitchen. With a nudge from Toriel, the other monsters are soon following them, leaving you and Mettaton alone with the human.  

You feel yourself turn a little paler as Frisk turns their gaze upon you and Mettaton. Their eyes focus on you, and then on your tears with no small amount of surprise and anxiety. That makes you cry harder, shrinking back behind Mettaton.

"I'm guessing you're Napstablook, then?" they ask in a soft, soothing tone. With their attention focused on you, you absolutely panic. 

"I'm sorry! I'm N-Napstablook, sorry! I d-didn't-!" It's a bit too much, and you abruptly burst into sobs, trying desperately to apologize through your ugly and loud wails. The more you apologize, the more you cry, and the worse you feel.  

Frisk, for their part, hurries to crouch back down to your height. "Shhh- it's okay, I'm not mad," they croon quickly, reaching a hand out to soothe you. They pause, realizing they can't touch you, and draw back their hand. You sob louder, upset to be making such a scene and to be taking up so much space and so much time. They shouldn't have to deal with someone like you, you shouldn't have left the Underground, it's not like you were needed up here anyway...you were just ruining things and making the others uncomfortable. Why had you ever thought you could do anything?

"Napstablook, it's okay," Frisk consoles in vain, their eyebrows drawn together in worry. 

"Blooky will be okay," Mettaton promises the human, "just give them some time. Do you wanna know how we got here?" 

The human blinks, giving you an anxious glance that makes you sniffle loudly, then nod. "Alright, Mettaton. Please tell me." They request, and your cousin launches into the tale. It sounds a lot more heroic coming out of Metta's mouth, but almost everything does. Your cousin proceeds to tell the story with gusto, making dramatic motions and small sound effects to accompany his tale.

Occasionally he'll cue you in, and you'll explain through hiccuping sobs, but for the most part Mettaton steals the show. The other monsters stay out of the room quietly, although sometime during the storytelling you can make out the crunching of dry spaghetti. Probably Papyrus, you think, and you can easily imagine Sans asleep nearby. 

As your cousin finishes the story, you slowly realize that your tears have come to a hesitant stop. Frisk blinks, absorbing the story. "So you can pass between the Underground and the surface?" they guess, looking hopeful. 

Your cousin freezes, then glances at you. You guess so, yes? It hasn't ever occurred to you before, but you two had both done it earlier, right? Mettaton, apparently coming to the same conclusion, shrugs as he glances back at the human.

"Sure, we think," he answers for the both of you, "I mean, we flew up here, didn't we?"

"Can you carry the others back down to the Underground?" Frisk continues, and you understand the human's motivation for asking. They want to return the others to the Underground. It's a good idea, you'll admit, but...

"We...hadn't thought about that," you whisper, hating yourself for crushing their hopes. "I don't think so, though. They'd pass right through us. Sorry..." tears threaten to well up in your eyes again as Frisk lets out a tiny sigh. Then they smile at you brightly, shadows clearing from their eyes. "It's okay, Blooky," they assure you, "It was just an idea. You don't need to be sorry." 

They straighten back up to their full height, glancing at a clock. Seeing the time, they jump in surprise. "It's getting late, I probably need to get the other kids to sleep," they say as they hurry to scoop up several crayon drawings and pencils off the floor. "Do-um, do ghosts need sleep?" they want to know, glancing up curiously as they toss the toys in a pile on the table. You shake your head in a negative, but Mettaton elaborates. 

"We don't have to, but sometimes we can sort of...turn ourselves off? It helps us heal faster, and I know I need my beauty sleep!" he winks charmingly, and Frisk's lips curl upwards faintly as they nod. 

"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" they offer after a moment, looking at you and your cousin expectantly. 

Uh oh. You didn't want to impose...and what if you freaked them out? What if there was such as thing as too many monsters in one house? You'd hate to be the reason that the others couldn't stay, you wouldn't want to throw Frisk's schedule off...

"I don't know, we might just hold you down..." you murmur to them unhappily, turning a tad paler. You didn't want to make them feel obligated to let you stay. They were being kind enough as it was...

Frisk's eyes soften, and they crouch in front of you. They completely dwarf your tiny form, but strangely it doesn't frighten you as much as it should. 

Their expression is filled with compassion as they look you in the eye, smiling genuinely as they tell you, "Blooky, we would love it if you and Mettaton stayed the night." Sincerity shines in the warmth of their eyes.

You hesitantly smile back, and Mettaton lets out an ecstatic chirp. "Thanks, Frisk!" he yells, and goes darting into the kitchen to tell the others. Frisk and you watch him go, a small giggle escaping Frisk at your cousin's exuberance. They glance back at you reassuringly, and you find the courage somewhere within you to smile back. Maybe this would be alright. 

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, you wake up feeling rather tired. Mettaton is hovering nearby, fast "asleep", and the other monsters are scattered haphazardly around the floor. Sans is squished up against Toriel, Papyrus cradled in his arms, and Asgore is flopped over Undyne, who's hugging Alphys's leg. They look content, and you don't want to mess with them, so you carefully float down the bed and through the bedroom door, glad that you didn't have to open it and risk waking someone. 

The hallway is empty, and when you glance into Frisk's bedroom, their bed has been neatly made. Feeling guilty for intruding on their space, you hurry to back up and continue on to the living room and the kitchen. 

You round the corner into the living room and find Frisk sitting on the floor. A big book is sprawled across their lap and a frown is creasing their face as they read it. Not liking the way they were looking at the tome, you start to back up again. You don't want to worry them, no, not at all. 

Unfortunately, Frisk catches a glimpse of you out of the corner of their eye. They look up immediately, automatically closing the book, and you curse yourself internally. "Blooky?" they ask in a hushed tone, pushing the book off their lap, "are you alright?" 

 "I- uh- sorry," you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, and Frisk gets to their feet. "It's okay Blooky. I was done anyway," they reassure you, their gentle expression returning as they pick up the book and place it on a nearby bookshelf, high above the reach of little monsters. "Is something wrong?" they wish to know, approaching you slowly. 

You shake your head. "I, ah...I didn't want to interrupt you." 

"You didn't," Frisk promises sincerely. You brighten up a little at that, and the human glances at the windows of their living room.

"Hey, Blooky. Do you guys have snow?" they question. You nod, and they blink a bit. "You do? Underground?"

"I think it's magic...not sure.." you explain bashfully. It doesn't make much sense, you're sure, but you don't have much of an explanation. 

"Well, do you guys like snow? I was watching the news earlier, and lots of people are going to be staying in." Frisk tells you. They gesture outside, and you float over to the window hesitantly to take a look. 

You're met by a gorgeous sight. Although the sky is mostly a puffy grey, patches of blue shine through like beacons, letting sun stream down to the ground. It dances across white snow like gold dust, sparkling brightly. It's beautiful, and so is the flawless snow that blankets the ground. Underground has pretty snow, too, but it never has snow that shimmers in the sunlight. 

Frisk chuckles gently at your wonder-struck expression, smiling warmly. "See? I'm hoping the others would like to play in the snow. I know they must be getting bored in here." they explain. You want to reassure the human that it's not their fault, but you're not sure how, so you say nothing. Frisk waits a minute, then seems to understand that they're not getting a response.

"Did you want to sit with me?" they offer after a beat, gesturing towards the couch. 

Your mouth curves down a little anxiously. "Could we maybe lay on the floor...?" you ask meekly. You want to, since it always feels good even when it's not after a meal, but you're not sure if Frisk will want to continue a stupid monster family tradition. 

The human nods. "Of course we can. Do you want anything to lay on the floor with?"

There's one thing you'd love to have....but you hesitate to ask for music. What if Frisk doesn't like music? What if there's nothing to play music with and you're asking too much? What if it's rude or insulting to humans to listen to music?!

 Frisk examines you. "You can tell me," they urge passionately, and you cave like the trash you are.

"Do you, um. Have some music?" you ask haltingly.

"Music?" Frisk repeats, and you cower a little. "Uh...sorry.." you breathe.

"No, Blooky. I just wasn't sure if I heard you right." they hurry to clarify, and you nod.

"Yeah...if you don't mind, I love music..." you felt awkward asking again.

Frisk bobs their head immediately in response to your answer, smiling brightly as they trot over to a nearby table. Pulling open a drawer, they fish out a music player, swiping some dust off its surface. 

Walking back over to you, Frisk settles down in the middle of the floor. With a flick of a button, the music player starts up, and displays a playlist.

"Here. Ah, can you press the buttons, or do I need to...?" Frisk suddenly looks a touch uncertain. 

Honestly, you had no idea about human music players. Your own worked for ghosts, but this one probably wouldn't. You shrug unhappily, hating to make the human inconvenience themselves any further. "It's okay, we don't have to have music..." you try to tell Frisk.

They immediately shake their head. "Music sounds great. You just have to tell me what you like." Frisk explains, flicking through their playlist to let you look at the songs. At first, you're uncomfortable with making Frisk scroll through all of the songs and pick them one by one. Yet you also can't help yourself- the human had such good music taste and you want to listen to a lot of the songs. 

Once a playlist (titled 'Blooky') has been created, Frisk looks at you expectantly. 

"Oh. Uh, now we turn on the music and lay down. It's, um, much more relaxing than it sounds..." you promise weakly.

Frisk hits Play, and you slowly sink to the ground. The human mimics you, stretching out to their full length on the floor. The first song begins, low chords strumming gently in a soothing pattern as a soft drumbeat begins. The music calms you down almost instantly, allowing you to relax.

With the human's steady breathing beside you and the beat of the music, things are already much better than you'd dared hope.

Frisk's ceiling is rather nice, you think as you look up. It's almost like you can imagine everything turning out just fine. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kindertale has a blog! Find it at kindertale.tumblr.com


End file.
